Everything about my outfit today was sort of a disaster. Not because of the style pairings (I mean, seriously, what 5-year old picks this out? More on that in a minute.), but because almost all the clothes I own are bought at secondhand stores, Target, or I steal/borrow them from my sister. This is a great method for the ol’ wallet, and for changing up my wardrobe more frequently, but not so great for amassing quality apparel that will stand the test of time. I do try to look for nicer brands at secondhand stores, but they’re still secondhand, so you know. Old.

What this also means is that I have a portion of my clothes stash that I just don’t pick out to wear very often, because their dilapidated status requires they receive some sort of maintenance, pre-wearing. (Ironing, de-linting, lost button-finding, loose cuff hemming, etc.) As a work-from-home/coffeeshop-er, I cannot be moved to care enough about my appearance to get out a sewing kit and/or iron before dressing myself. And so, many things languish unworn in the dark corners of my drawers.

Rosie chose almost my whole outfit today from these dark corners. The JV squad. The B-team. The fixer-uppers. My shoes had to be Shoe Goo’d back together because of a falling apart strap, and the blazer looked like it had been wadded into a tight ball and stuffed into a garbage bag full of cats for storage. The shirt was stained in several places, and honestly, made me a little too aware of my midsection. This was the very same shirt, by the way, that started all of this in the first place. “Old Shirt,” if you will. Sad Old Shirt. And yet, Rosie selected it with glee. With glee! I totally called her on those shenanigans, asking why she’d called it an “old shirt” last week, but gave it her full endorsement this week. She was like, “That was this shirt? Oh, well it looked old that day.” OK THEN.

Rosie says:

“I like the high heel shoes because they look good with so much stuff. [Ed. note: This is so completely true. They’re great shoes. When they’re not busted six ways to Sunday.] I wanted to pick these same colors because you can make patterns with same colors when you put them over and over again. Plus, sometimes I like to pick out cool things.”

Yes, girl. If there’s one thing I know, it’s that you are already fluent in the language of cool.

Reasons I never would have put this outfit on in real time: 1. The shirt is stained, and a little threadbare. 2. The navys of the pants and blazer don’t match. (Quel horreur!) 3. The scarf is “too casual” for this overall look. 4. The shoes are black instead of navy. 5. The pants are too casual for a blazer. 6. Other nonsense.

I own a lot of extra clothes that I could very likely discard and never miss, but I own a lot of diamonds in the rough, too. I glued those shoes back together, and they look great. The blazer ironed out without a problem, and lint rolling is weirdly satisfying, so I don’t know why it’s morphed into some Big Chore in my mind. (It took me one whole minute? Maybe?) You can’t see the stains on the shirt (or my midsection) with the scarf and blazer, and as for the non-matching navy hues, well, sometimes you just gotta get over yourself about that stuff.

I asked Rosie what her favorite part about this project was so far, and she said she liked best the time we spent together in my room, laying out clothes and trying on and switching out an outfit. And then she said, “It’s just, I love the outfits I pick out for you. Every time I see you wearing what I picked it makes me think of … you!”

So glad we’re doing this together, Rosie M., and that when you see me, it makes you think of … me. Every time I see me, I think of you. <3